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Gmp Seeks New Tenant For Torre BBVA

13 October 2015 – Expansión

An office building with a surface area of almost 40,000 m2, located in the best financial district of Madrid, has been put onto the market for the first time ever, 40 years after its inauguration. The building in question is Castellana, 81, known as Torre BBVA, which has housed the bank’s headquarters since 1971, when the entity won a competition to construct its head office in the capital.

Four decades later and following the acquisition of the building by the real estate company Gmp in 2007, the iconic skyscraper is now looking for a tenant, as its historical occupant is moving to its new headquarters in Las Tablas. “This is an exciting project for the company. It is the first time that this building, which we have owned for eight years, has gone on the market. Since we acquired the property, we knew that BBVA would be leaving, and so we have been preparing accordingly – as such, we are putting the property on the market just at the right time in the cycle”, explains Xabier Barrondo, CEO of Gmp.

Before the arrival of the new tenant, the real estate company owned by the Montoro family and the Singapore sovereign fund GIC, will undertake a significant refurbishment of the building to update it. To this end, it has commissioned the architecture studio Ruiz de Barbarín. “We have contracted OHL, which is already working on the building. Our vision is to supply the market with a building that has the best services, in the best location in Madrid”, says the CEO.

In total, Gmp will invest around €30 million updating this building, which it hopes will obtain the ‘Leed Oro’ certification. This certificate attests that the property has the most energetically efficient systems. Moreover, the building will dedicate 2,300 m2 of space to catering, auditorium and physiotherapy services.

BBVA will not leave the building completely, since it will continue to occupy around 6,000 m2, on the top five floors (out of the total space – 38,800 m2 over 28 floors).

It is expected that the skyscraper will have its new tenant by the time the refurbishment work is completed, at the end of 2016. To this end, Gmp has engaged the consultancies Aguirre Newman and CBRE. (…).

This is not the only project that Gmp is currently working on; it is also renovated Torre Ederra, on Castellana, 77 and a property it has acquired on Eloy Gonzalo, 10, both in Madrid.

Original story: Expansión (by Rocío Ruiz)

Translation: Carmel Drake